Witchcraft and A Rebel
by Neukar
Summary: A lone wolf, the last of his kind, is captured and tortured by Death Eaters. Then, after months of abuse, he escapes, only to wake up in Hogwarts. Will he ever be able to face his fears and protect the ones who need it most? Rated for abuse and language.
1. A Rebellious Lone Wolf Captured

**Name: Witchcraft and a Rebel**

**Rated: PG13-R for later chapters. I'll warn you what happens. I'm not sure entirely yet. I know lots of abuse.  
**

**Disclaimer: JKR is God. BONES is God. I own nothing. Except my own character. (His name will be revealed in Chapters 2 or 3.)**

**This story is kind of Wolf's Rain based... So shoot me. It's not Wolf's Rain though. It has next to nothing to do with WR. Also, I got the idea of my charactor from _tsume.hack_ 's story _Running Renegade._** **Excellent story. Read it. Now. I command you. **

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The chilling breeze whipped through the boy's blacker-than-night hair. He sat on the hillside, gazing down at the shack below. It was a summer cottage apparently belonging to a professor of some school that he had never heard about. That didn't matter to him. He didn't go to school, and never planned to. He never saw much point, being that he knew it could give him none of the knowledge in which he wished to gain. He highly doubted anyone could. After all, he was the supposedly last one left. 

His cold blue-gray eyes narrowed as he saw the man occupying the cottage enter it. Great. Just great. All the more difficult for him to get what he needed. He had attempted to rob this house before, only to find to his great surprise, he had been stunned and interrogated. He had, of coarse, lied his way through. He gave stupid, silly answers that he was certain that the man who had caught him didn't believe. Still. He managed to escape minutes after being caught, due only to the fact that in mid sentence, the man had begun clutching his left arm in pain, his eyes closed and painful hisses escaping him. The boy had taken the man's momentarily weakness as a chance to escape, and escape he did. The man had thrown a few curses his way, but given his advanced speed and agility, he had dodged them. Idiot. Stupid wizards, always using their magic to do their job for them, whether it be to cook a meal or catch an enemy. Pfft. What weaklings.

When he felt the time to be right, the boy stood up. It was about ten o'clock at night, and the sickle moon bathed the boy's pale skin in it's cool, soft glow. The boy felt his stiff muscles tingle in response to the moon's light. He felt great, strong, as if he could take on the world. He wanted to howl his head off. But, that would be damn near _seppuku_. Ritualistic suicide. However, he would make himself less noticeable to the cottage and its occupant so he could get in and out, quickly and quietly. He dropped the illusion, and instantly, a blacker-than-night wolf stood where a black haired, pale skin boy clad in a black shirt and dark blue jeans, stood moments before.

The wolf gave a small sigh. He was out of Wolfsbane, a plant that would make his human illusion fully look and feel like a human to all those who encountered him when he had it up. Without it, anyone who touched him would feel his fur instead of skin, and that would ultimately lead to his death. He would still be a wolf, but would just appear as a human. All wolves could do it. Or could have done it, had they not let their idiotic version of pride get in the way. What good was pride if you were dead? He still had pride. His pride told him that he was to not get involved with humans. To steer clear of them as much as possible. To not let himself become a lowly street dog. To spy on the wizards, watching them and learning their ways. To make sure that he didn't get himself killed. His pride was not worn on his sleeve though. He knew what he had to do to survive, and he took what chances he could. He wasn't afraid to die either. He had faced death enough times not to fear it. He knew he had a purpose, though, he wasn't sure what, he felt it. He knew that he shouldn't die, but if he were to about to lose his life, he would accept it, no qualms about it. Enter: His own twisted version of pride and thinking. Instinct.

That was why a fifteen year old boy could be seen wandering through the villages, late at night, looking for something that he could not find. Or at least, he couldn't find it until he heard about this… professor. The Potions Master at some school, who regularly made a potion for some werewolf so it didn't harm anyone. That quickly perked his interest. He had heard of this potion before, and knew of its most important ingredient. Wolfsbane. Very few knew of its whereabouts, and how to grow it and harvest it(he tried once. It was too difficult and complicated, and his efforts were not rewarded), mostly only wolves did. But then, considering that he was the only wolf in the world left, with the exception of werewolves, the thought didn't give him much comfort. Whatever. He needed in and out fast. He slowly crept towards the small house, his black fur shimmering as the moon touched it.

He was sleek and well filled out. The quiet way in which he walked, the way his eyes would shift from here to there, as if studying his surroundings, and how healthy he looked gave away how lethal he was. He was a hunter, a killer. He almost never missed his prey anymore, and was well fed throughout the year. He felt had hunger and starvation before, he knew what it was. He had been born into the world during a time in which his kind had been hunted, and food was scarce. He had gone months with next to no food. Extremely weakened, he had been forced to feed on his brothers. Not something he had ever wanted to do again. _Not that I could, _he mused to himself.

He froze as soon as he heard voices, his sensitive wolf hearing picking up a few uneasy tones.

"…I assure you Lucius, that the boy had not gotten anything last week. Though, before I had a chance to fully question him, the Dark Lord called."

"Did the boy know? I can assure you Severus, that the Lord will not be pleased to know that the boy had escaped. What if he had been a spy?" The sentence was drawn out, almost accusingly.

There was a silence.

"What are you implying Lucius? You don't honestly think that someone was sent to spy on us, do you? I got a good look at the boy's face. It wasn't a student from Hogwarts and it wasn't a Death Eater. My guess is that it was perhaps a muggle, trying to get himself initiated into some muggle gang. Whatever the reason, I haven't seen the boy since."

'the boy' couldn't help but give a small, toothy grin from his hiding place in the bushes. He enjoyed a challenge, and having two wizards who were suspicious of him provided just that. He needed the Wolfsbane though, and badly. His powerful nose scented the plant, stored carefully in the cabinets. If his nose was correct, which it almost always was, by the end of the night, he could have enough Wolfsbane with him to make his human illusion the best it could possibly be for a full year. The side effects would be great, sapping him of most of his strength for a while. But the danger of being caught as a wolf was greater, and he needed his human illusion up to a point of perfection. It was either an extreme chance of getting killed, or feeling weak and out of commission for a few days. Even someone with less than half a brain could figure that one out.

He cautiously made his way to the cottage, and peeked in the window for a split second, before flattening himself against the ground. The coast was clear. He could still hear the two men talking in the other room of the small cottage, but he was no longer the main topic of their conversation. He fiddled with the window, pushing his snout up against it until it opened. The idiot wizard that left his windows unlocked. All the more easier. He made his way inside, not making a sound. He didn't have much time left to get the Wolfsbane. He could only ingest it on sickle or full moons. A sudden flutter of wings from the other room made him freeze and drop to the ground, slinking into the shadows. He heard on of the wizards pause and open the note attached to the owl. Then, he heard the muttering of "Damn. Dumbledore wants me in his office, now." The owl left, and the wolf heard a rush of flames.

"Malfoy Manor." Said the first voice. Then,

"Dumbledore's office. Sugar Quill."

The men were gone. The boy couldn't believe his great luck. He still acted quietly, as though the men hadn't left the house. His human illusion was still up. No need to risk your neck over being stupid. He quickly broke the lock to the cabinet, grabbed the Wolfsbane and turned to leave when an icy voice cut through him.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It seems Severus has a little thief is his summer home."

The wolf turned. Slowly. He was caught. Cold rage, then quickly, fear, rushed through him. The man he was facing was different than the cottage's occupant. This man had cold gray eyes, and blond, almost white shoulder length hair. And the look in his eyes created an image of vast evil. Pure hatred. No human had ever intimidated the wolf as much as this one. Wide eyed, the wolf leapt through the window, the glass cutting into him like razors. He landed, plant in hand, and shot towards the woods. He could have killed the human, or tried to. He yelled at himself for being so stupid. So weak. Running away from his enemy.

"Stupify!" He felt himself freeze up. The same stunning spell that had been used on him just two weeks ago by a different man.

He had never felt fear before, or at least, not fear brought because of a human. His eyes widened as the human came down upon him, wand pointing at his head, and a sinister smile cast on his face.

"The Dark Lord will be pleased. Crucio."

A red light burst through the wand, and the 'boy' felt pain. He fought not to yelp, small whimpers issuing from his throat. It felt as if every fiber in his body was burning, eating him alive. Then came the total blackness.

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**More Author's Notes:**

**I will post the 2nd chapter soon. Umyay. So... Reveiw... I need your opinion... o.o Yay. lmao. this fic came to me when I was in a fever and Mt. Dew induced sleep after watching Wolf's Rain, reading _Running Renegade_ again,(read it. Now. ) and reading various fanfics, since I have no life.  
**


	2. Fever Induced Insanity

**A/N:**

**Abuse scene later on in this chapter. Just a warning. :P**

** Also, as you can see, I'm taking a break from my other fics. Just because I got too tired of being driven insane trying to figure out all the plot holes in them. I've got half of Chapter 5 for_ Witchcraft and Wolves_ written out. lmao. All my Harry Potter fics are probably going to end up being called "Witchcraft and..." whatever fits. xD When I'm done with this one(I actually know what the ending will be like. O.O I've actually planned a story out so I know the ending before the first 6 chapters of the story. Rejoice!) Anyway, when done with this one, I'm going to be planning A Harry Potter/ Yu Yu Hakusho crossover called "_Witchcraft and Demons"_ Odd, but whatever. I know that to alot of people, it seems like I'm obsessed with Harry Potter. Actually, I'm not. There is just so many ways to torture your charactors with it. So many possiblities. -evil grin-**

** Anyway. I'm done boring you to death. Onto Chapter Two!**

** Wait. I'm not done. **

**I was surprised I actually got this chapter written out tonight. o.o**

**Okay. Now I'm done. Continue with your lives. I'll be watching. O.O **

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He stumbled through the woods, his whole body throbbing, hunger eating at him, walking through a fever-induced haze. How he had escaped, he didn't know. Or care, for that matter. He collapsed on the ground as his legs gave out. He stayed this way for a few minutes, until he mustered the strength to stand again. It had been almost a year since he had been captured. During those ten and a half months, he had only been fed stale, moldy bread, or whatever he could find that scurried past his cage in the cold, dark dungeon of Malfoy Manor. Even then, he had just gone a month without the least bit of food. Two months with only a few measly slices of bread and a malnourished rat. Starvation and abuse would have killed him if it hadn't been for the moon. The moon had given him strength. Just barely enough strength to keep alive. There had been a small window, less than a foot square. It showed him the moon, thus, it gave him strength. Everyday that he had been there, he had been beaten and hurt. After a while, the Crucio curse had almost no affect on him. He still felt a little pain from it, but not as much as there had been before. The rest of his body however, had become super-sensitive, the nerve-endings on fire. 

When he had first arrived, they had beaten him into submission, and collared him with a large leather collar. He had refused, and the result was that he was tortured. At first, he didn't understand why they did this to him. Then, with a sickening realization, he understood that he was their initiation tool. The rules changed as time went on. At first, you had to beat the wolf into submission. Then, for all those who wanted to join after the wolf had been beaten so much that he flinched every single time someone so much as looked at him, and that he felt little pain from the Crucio, the task was to make him scream for at least an hour. That was difficult too, and they could tell if he was faking it. Then, the torture would be worse. He was their toy. To be used in whatever sick and painful way they could. he was no longer a living, feeling creature, but an object. The collar was to show that he was owned. An object. A nothing. For a wolf, or any wild animal, this was the ultimate worse, like an insult to his ancestors. To be owned or domesticated. To have no control is enough to drive a wild creature insane.

He miraculously came across some Wolfsbane as he staggered through the forest. He'd been traveling for two days now, and it surprised him that he hadn't been captured yet. Somewhere within the hazy, cloudy area of his mind he was surprised. He still recognized things around him, but subconsciously. Every time something made a sound, or something touched him, he would flinch and whimper. Then, slowly, oh so painfully slow, he continued his journey. Where he was going, he didn't know. He needed some rest again. He needed sleep. He recognized the plant in his mind and chewed on what few stalks that he could find. Wolfsbane was an energizer in addition to making him weak. But the weakness would come later. It had begun to rain a cold biting rain, and he needed to find shelter, and if he were to collapse that wouldn't be possible. His human illusion would strengthen again once he was rested. For now, he didn't have the concentration to keep it up. He stopped and began to cough up blood. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and several voices approaching. Cold fear shot through him, and he flinched down low to the ground when he heard a low growl.

"Bloody hell! What is that thing?"

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Hagrid had been walking through the Forbidden forest with Professor McGonagall and Fang at his side when it had started to rain. Hagrid had decided to give Aragog a visit, and asked the Transformations teacher to accompany him. To his dismay, he found the spider to be looking worse and worse. Professor McGonagall was pale, wide-eyed, and twitching.

"_Never again." _She hissed at Hagrid. "_Never again will I follow you in here to see those…things."_

Hagrid gave a small chuckle, despite the fact that he found out his old 'pet' was dying.

"Come on Professor. They're harmless. They wouldn' hurt a human. Or Fang." He paused to scratch the canine behind the ears.

"Harmless? You think they are _harmless? _I heard them talking about how they wanted to eat us. That is defiantly NOT _harmless _behavior."

"I'm sure that they were only joking. Nuthin to worry yerself about."

Before the poor traumatized woman could respond to that, Fang began a low deep growl. The two trailing behind the dog looked up, and were startled by what they saw.

"Bloody hell! What is that thing?" Hagrid said, eyes wide.

Standing before them, was a large black animal, it was heaving, coughing up blood. It was staring at them through dull, fear filled, red eyes. Its eyes were vacant, as if it couldn't comprehend what was going on around it. Its fur hung off it in matted clumps, and you could see every bone it its body. It had multiple scars and open wounds. Its ears twitched slightly, and were pressed up against its head, it's tail tucked between its legs. One of its legs were slightly crooked. A leather collar hung loosely off its skinny neck. A dog? A huge dog no doubt, maybe the same size as Fang, but still a dog.

Hagrid got onto his knees, and offered out a hand to the pathetic creature.

"'Ere boy. I won' hurt yeh."

It suddenly bolted at the sound of his voice, and could be heard stumbling through the brush.

"Come on Professor! The poor creature needs help." And he proceeded to follow it, Fang right behind him.

McGonagall sighed and followed. There wasn't much she could do, seeing how Hagrid was the only one who knew where the entrance of the forest was.

She caught up to him, surprisingly fast. They couldn't see the dog anymore, but they heard Fang's barking. They reached the boarhound soon enough, and saw that it had stopped by a stream. By now, it was raining hard, and the creek was moving incredibly fast, like a miniature river. Hagrid examined something on the ground, and his eyes scanned the bank.

"Oh no. The poor thing." He stood up from where the wolf tracks stopped and walked about five feet, and reached out and grabbed a bush that was half way in the water, and halfway out. He pulled a branch that was in the water, and slowly slipped a large, wet collar off it. He showed it to McGonagall. "Looks like the poor guy slipped and fell inta the creek. There's no chance of 'm survivin' in his condition." He sighed and got up, pocketing the collar.

"At least you tried Hagrid." She whispered softly. She felt bad for the dog. Judging by its condition, someone had probably beaten and abandoned it. It was probably best for it's misery to end.

As they walked away, they heard Fang's frantic barking coming from down the creek. McGonagall was getting mad now. She was soaked, it was still raining, and she had to get ready for the upcoming school year, which was in about…two and a half weeks. Joy. Hagrid frowned.

"Jus' wait 'ere a minute while I get Fang."

McGonagall waited a few minutes for them to return. Fang had ceased his barking, so she couldn't tell if Hagrid had reached him or not. A shout suddenly erupted through the dark quietness of the Forest.

"Minerva! Come quick! An' hurry!" Hagrid's shout chilled her. He only called her by her first name in public, outside the school or if it was an emergency. She guessed it was the latter and ran as fast as she could through the rain, careful not to slip. She found Hagrid kneeling beside a fallen tree trunk. There was an opening in its side, a few feet in diameter. She nearly choked at what she saw inside of it. Curled up inside the tree trunk, wet, bruised and bloodied was a boy.

"Oh my God."

The boy stirred at the sound of her voice.

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He had been running. Stumbling or staggering would have been a better way to describe it. But he was moving as quickly as he could. Those humans… He had smelled fear on them. Fear of him. Then, the man, the large threatening looking man, spoke to him. Of coarse, he didn't understand it. His fever jumbled his mind. But still. He knew humans with the fear and hate smell caused his pain. He didn't want the pain again. He had slipped near the stream, his collar catching on a branch. After a short struggle, he slipped free and into the water. Floating downstream, trying to keep his head above water, he had managed to pull himself up onto shore. He crawled into a log to escape the rain, and he hoped, to escape the humans. But then the dog found him. And the dog brought humans. With all his might, he willed his human illusion to stay up. He was thankful for the Wolfsbane earlier. He knew that he could successfully keep his human illusion up if he were to slip into subconciousness. Yes, it had weakened him, and it would even more so. It might be able to keep him alive. He needed concentration to keep it up. Now, huddled in a wet little hole, he could get _some _concentration. Not much, but enough.

The giant man came. He shouted something to his partner, who was there in a heartbeat. Then, he heard the words. The words that showed fear, and could bring pain. He remembered the words.

"Oh my God."

_He was crammed into a small steel cage. He barely had any room to move around. The cage and the dungeon were dark, and it stank. of blood, puke, urine, and... more.. The wolf sneezed. In response to the sneeze, someone shook the cage, jolting his already broken leg. He gritted his teeth, and tried to hold back the whimper that had started. The men, the wizards more accurately, around him laughed at his pathetic whine. This enraged him. He slammed his body against the side of the cage, snarling. He was careful about his leg though. He made sure he didn't move it. But he continued to snarl and growl, trying to break out of the cage that contained him. This only made the humans around him laugh harder. Except for one. A boy, maybe eleven or twelve years old, stood in front of the cage, frozen like a deer caught in headlights. He was shivering at the sight of the raging, red-eyed, black beast before him. The wolf heard him whisper three short words. _

"_Oh my God."_

_Then the pain started. They had let him out of the cage. He leapt onto the boy, in an attempt to kill him. On one level, he felt sorry for the human. But that level was very, very deep down. He was too enraged. Too hungry. Already he had gone for a while without food. How long? He lost count. This boy could be his food. Before he could get a killing bite in, he heard the boy murmur unfamiliar words, and the wolf found himself to be bound to the ground as if chained. Then, he saw a nearby rock transform into a knife and handed to the boy. _

Oh great Sirius. This can't be good. (A/N. 'Sirius' is the canine star. In this fic, it is used as the Wolf god)

_Suddenly, he felt the knife being plunged into his left thigh. His good leg. A small cry escaped his lips and he tensed up his muscles and closed his eyes tightly. Bad move. He felt the knife twist, still in his leg. Strangled yelps escaped him. The process was repeated over and over, all over his body. By the end, he was sure he would bleed to death. The animal in him accepted that. He accepted it. He wanted it to end. But no. More was coming. He tried to ignore the laughing in the background, and he tried to ignore the torture. He couldn't. His eyes found those of his torturer. The young boy's were blank at first, all fear gone now that the wolf no longer posed a threat. But the wolf saw something else. Power and hatred. He gave a small snarl, despite his pain. The boy smirked and stood up. He returned with a bowl of something. The wolf's eyes widened, as he smelled what it was. Salt._

No. No, Sirius, no. Please. Stop. Please.

_The wolf saw the boy pick up a handful of salt. He faced the wolf. "Think you can snarl at me and get away with it, eh?" Then he sent the wolf reeling into Hell. Two minutes later, the wolf slowly passed out from the pain._

_That night, when he awoke, he was in his cage again. Sobs racked his body every time he moved. With each muscle twitch, the salt rubbed into his wounds deeper and deeper. He was dizzy from blood loss, hunger and pain. So much pain. And that was only the beginning of his time spent in that dark little hellhole. His broken leg had swollen. He tried to set it the best he could, but he suspected that it would never heal properly. It never did. It always proved to be his weak spot, and whenever a newbie came to torture him, whenever they saw his weakness, they took advantage of it. The leg became slightly crooked. The wolf learned to be fast on it whenever he was let out of his cage. The faster he was, the more he could put off his torture whether it be a few minutes or a few seconds… But in the end, he was always caught and always stabbed, cursed, shot or whatever the evil bastards thought up next. Always…_

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_

He lashed out as he felt the hand touch him. At first he flinched, but then he feebly kicked out, knocking away Hagrid's hand. Then, he curled back up into a fetal position, and tensed, as if waiting for harm to come to him.

"_No." _He whispered, his voice raspy. _"No. Please. Don't hurt me. Not again." _He was shaking.

McGonagall and Hagrid stared for a moment. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. A boy, at least seventeen by the looks of it, was practically bleeding to death and sobbing inside of a tree trunk in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. The boy didn't have much of an English or Scottish accent either. Odd. American maybe? No. There was something… wild about it. Someone had done this to him. That was evident.

"Hagrid." Whispered McGonagall. "Hagrid, we've got to get him to the castle."

Hagrid only nodded.

"Its' all righ' now. No one's gonna hurt yeh." He quietly told the boy in calm tones. If anything, it made the boy get tenser. "I think we're going to have to drag him our Minerva. He's too afraid ter come ou' on his own."

She gave a stern nod. It was still pouring, though it had lightened up considerably. And every second they wasted could put the strange boy closer to death. Bloody coughs racked the boy's pale, starved body. It pained her to see him like this. First some injured red-eyed, now-dead dog, and now a strange beaten boy. What a night.

Hagrid leaned closer to the broken boy, and gently told him that he was going to pull him out. The boy was already unconscious when Hagrid put one of his massive hands of the boy's barefoot feet and slowly dragged him out. But, the minute the boy left the log, he reawakened, and tried to bolt. Taken by surprise, Hagrid lost his grasp, and the boy broke free. He didn't get far though. The last thing the boy remembered before slipping back into the dreamless state of unconsciousness, was that he was being held in the gentle arms of someone who strangely enough smelled like a cat…


	3. Fifteen years without a name?

**A/N:**

**I will be away with my aunt and uncle for a while... So, I won't be updating for a few weeks. I haven't forgotten you guys, don't worry. I should be returning August 16th, and I will be taking the 17th off to recover from jetlag. xP So... expect me to be updating sometime around then. I will be taking a notebook with me to write chapter(s) of this story and my other ones... Umyay. o.o Anyway... Here is chapter 3! And, we learn our main charactor's name. Snape will be appearing next chapter. What tortures await our wolfie friend? I feel very evil at the moment, just thinking of the possiblities... D**

**Warnings: Abuse.(duh)and a particularily graphic description of what happened to the wolf's parents and brothers and sister. O.o You have been warned. I may make the rating go up... Actually, I will. Also, language in this chapter.**

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The first thing he noticed was that there was no pain. No hunger. For the first time in almost a year, he had awakened, not to someone jolting him or cursing him, but by his own free will, and he wasn't in pain. Odd. Was he dead? 

No. He highly doubted that death smelled like disinfectant. He tried to move, but found his muscles stiff and unresponsive, and something tightened around him, constricting his movements. He was also on something soft, warm, and squishy, instead of cold and hard.

_What the hell? _

He blinked, his vision clearing. He looked around the room. It was white, with many more beds here and there, and a plump old lady tending to someone a few beds down from him. Great. He was in a human hospital, and in a human bed. And… he looked at himself. A human hospital gown. Nothing more. None of which he had any experience before, seeing how he had learned to treat his own wounds ever since he was small, and he had never bothered to sleep like a human, preferring the ground, or a cave. He gave a small growl of annoyance.

His eyes wandered around the room, and he suddenly noticed a silver and black tabby cat curled up in a chair next to his bed, sleeping. He tried to get up, slowly and quietly, but failed when he realized that his muscles were too stiff and sore to move. He sighed and contented himself with stroking the cat. He figured that if the people in this place had wanted to hurt him, he would have woken up in a different setting. There were so many new smells here and there, and they interested him. He stroked the cat, thinking about how he hadn't come in contact with anything other than humans for almost a year.

The cat stirred and looked around. She smelled somewhat familiar to him, though he couldn't place it. When its eyes fell on the 'boy' it seemed shocked, but pleased. She allowed her self to be stroked, but what came next bewildered her.

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She had awakened to the feeling of someone stroking her fur. She looked up to see that it had been the boy who had been sleeping peacefully moments before. She was shocked that he had woken up, as Madam Pomfrey said that there was a chance of him never again awaking due to the seriousness of his injuries. Extreme starvation, several broken bones, open wounds, bruises, hypothermia, and an assortment of other injuries. And then, not only waking up, he began to pet her and talk to her. But… it wasn't a language she had immediately recognized, and what was stranger was that though she felt his hands rubbing her, she had the distinct feeling of being licked by a dog. Then, the cat in her understood the language. The boy could speak Feliniatis. The cat language. He gave her a small, sad smile before speaking in a raspy, soft voice in a series of light hisses, meows, and purrs.

"_Sleep well? Could you mind telling me where the hell I am?"_

She seemed shell-shocked for a minute, and then got up and hurriedly left the room. _Figures. _The boy thought to himself. He leaned back and sighed. The cat gave a small meow as it left the room, and the nurse looked up and almost instantly began to fuss over him.

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The woman's reaction when he woke up caused him to flinch and shrink back. She was so damn ecstatic that he wondered if she had overdosed herself in sugar or whatever. She began to fawn over him, checking his bandages, temperature, reflex, and pretty much everything else. At first, she didn't notice that he flinched and shrunk away from her every time she touched him. When she did, she quickly apologized and made him relax with something or another that she forced down his throat. Then. She. Wouldn't. Shut. Up. She about drove the canine insane from disgust of her sickly sweet voice. At that moment, someone came and saved them both. Saved her from getting her throat ripped out by an angry, frightened, disguised, but well-meaning wolf. Him from being cursed, killed, or thrown in Azkaban. Not that Azkaban wouldn't have been welcomed. Compared with the last place he had been, prison would be bliss.

"Poppy." A voice began quietly. "I think you should calm down a bit. The poor boy looks like he's ready to hex you out of fear." An old man with a long white beard and half moon spectacles dressed in a dark purple robe stood at the door of the infirmary, his bright blue eyes twinkling. Beside him stood a vaguely familiar black-hair woman in green robes. She smelled strongly of cat. Cat… The cat that was here this morning… He realized that it must have been her. Great. An animagus. He didn't know how he knew the term, but he knew it. Years of spying on culture came in handy.

The medi-witch immediately calmed down more, though she was extremely glad her patient was alive. She truly hadn't thought that he would ever reawaken. She had never, in all her years, seen someone so badly broken and abused, and the fact that he had slept for a week didn't help. The poor child had cried out ever time someone had touched him in his sleep. That wasn't normal behavior.

The two people at the door way approached him, slowly. He flinched involuntarily and gave them a glare to show that he didn't trust them and didn't plan to.

"How are you doing today young man? Do you have any idea where you are?" The older of the two asked with a gentle tone.

_How do I feel? I feel like I have been Crucio'd, starved, and beaten to the point of insanity for almost a year, then, after somehow escaping, almost drowning, and now I wake up with NO FUCKING CLUE ABOUT WHERE I AM! HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I _**FEEL?** The fully disguised wolf thought to himself.

Instead he replied with a small "Fine. And no."

He gave no more answers. In his time in his cage, he had been asked simple questions. "Simple" questions that had involved with him being Crucio'd at the time. The result was that, if he could at all, he gave simple answers, for long and complicated ones seemed to cause his toturers at the time, confusion, and they belived he was smart mouthing them. As one can imagine, the result wasn't pretty.

"You are at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't appear 'fine' when you were brought in a week ago. I am Albus Dumbledore, and this is Minerva McGonagall, Headmaster and Headmistress." Dumbledore eyed the boy to see his reaction. The boy had flinched back, and fear passed through his eyes, unbeknown to Dumbledore, for more reasons than one.

The boy remembered the name Hogwarts. That professor… the one he had tried to rob, worked at Hogwarts. Gah… What was his name? It started with an 'S'… He was associated with Lucius Malfoy, and the Death Eaters... Sure, the wolf had never seen him after he had been captured, but still… And he had been here a WEEK? With out anyone trying to kill him? With his human illusion up? He began to shake visibly.

"Is something wrong?"

The woman's voice cut through his fear. They couldn't see him being afraid. They might be connected with _them. _

"N-No…Nothing is wrong…" Came the shaky reply.

"What's you name?" The woman had sat beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder and he flinched slightly. She threw a look at Dumbledore. The boy had stopped shaking. A new realization came to him. He didn't exactly have a name. He had gone fifteen years without one. Fourteen if you considered the fact that he hadn't exactly ever had time to think in his little dungeon. He would have chuckled to himself had he ever thought of it. Fifteen years without a name. The only things he had been referred to as was "wolf" "mutt" "filth" "beast" "dog" and a cluster of obscenities. He quickly thought about his personality before being captured. He had been a rebel to everything in life. Even captured he had fought back. He would have said 'Rebel' had it not sounded so much like 'rubble,' which is exactly how he felt at the moment. Besides, he doubted that it sounded much like a human name anyway.

"Ren." He responded after a long silence. "My name is Ren." He suddenly started coughing.

"Wren? Like a bird? And last name?" Madam Pomfrey asked. She had her quill ready to jot down his name onto her paperwork for later use. Dumbledore gave her quick nod and she hurriedly went and came back with a glass of water. Ren, as he was now called, could smell something else in the water. What, he wasn't sure. He quickly downed the water, welcoming the coolness that swept against his parched, dry throat.

"No. Ren. As in 'Renegade.' I have no last name." The boy looked down at the sheets. The answer came so easily. So…against his will. He knew the water had something to do with this. How the hell was he going to get out of this? The question ran through his mind over and over.

"How old are you?" The Headmaster turned to him and asked him. The boy just gave a small shrug.

"Depends. What's the date?" A flurry of eyebrows shot up. This was not what they expected, especially under the truth potion.

"August 2, 2005." The nurse flipped through her notes.

"Oh. I am sixteen then. I think… G-Great Sirius... Was it really almost a year?" He closed his eyes and put his hands through his hair. His voice had cracked, and once again the answers came without him wanting them to. There was a pause. Then, before anyone could say anything, the boy, Ren, looked up. "You said your name was Albus Dumbledore. Do you by any chance know of someone referred to as 'The Dark Lord' or 'Voldemort'? Or a 'Harry Potter'?"

Madam Pomfrey issued a small squeak at the sound of the name. McGonagall and Dumbledore looked shocked. Everyone knew who Voldemort was, and Dumbledore's relations with him. And what's more, Harry Potter? Something was up. And 'Ren' as in Renegade? That was an odd way to tell someone your name's pronunciation.

"How… How does that concern you?" Dumbledore questioned him slowly. This boy, Ren… It was evident that he wasn't a muggle, for he hadn't begun firing questions about witchcraft, and he knew of Voldemort and Harry. This was gong to be a confusing night.

"I-It's nothing really." The boy mumbled, trying to fight the potion. His own idiocy caught up with him again. The water could have been poison. Instead, it as worse. "I just heard the De-… Them talking about it. And they brought me to a man the called the 'Dark Lord'… I figured that he was a powerful man, and he was the one who a-allowed me to l-live… At least, halfway." He cringed visibly and was trembling. McGonagall gave his shoulder a small squeeze.

"Who is 'them'? And… You saw Voldemort? What were they saying about Harry Potter?" Dumbledore already knew who 'them' was. McGonagall was currently speechless, as was the nurse.

Ren gave a small, bitter laugh. "'Them' would be my lovely torturers, the ones who call themselves Death Eaters… And I'd often over hear something about a Harry Potter. They said they needed his heart and blood or something like that… I could never really figure out why, being that I had more important things on my mind…" He was now fingering the bed sheets. Or chewing on them if you were to look at him as the wolf he was. "…A lot more important things…" He mumbled to himself.

The others in the room stared, speechless at him, wide-eyed. There was a long deafening silence before any of them spoke again. Dumbledore decided that it would probably be the best time to change the subject.

"Where are your parents? Have you ever been to a school?"

Another bitter laugh. "My parents, my siblings, are dead. They have been for… Years. I'm not sure how many… And truthfully, I don't care. I've never been to a school, I taught myself how to read and write for my own purposes, and, there are no files whatsoever on me. Technically, I don't exist in the Wizarding or Muggle world. Anymore questions? Or do you plan to spike any more drinks with Veritaserum? Yes, I know what it is, all too well. And just so you know, the effect wore off five minutes ago." The wolf was getting tired, and he sensed himself to be getting low on the Wolfsbane supply in his veins. He could go three more days at the most before it disappeared completely and he'd just have to hope that no one wanted to touch him until he could get his paws on some more. But then, he planned to be away from this place by then. Though, given his last experiences with being around wizards, he had the distinct feeling that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. He leaned back and rested his head on the pillow.

Seeing that the boy was tired, the stunned people surrounding him stood up and said their good-byes. All three left the room, and Ren heard them mumbling outside the door. His acute hearing picked up a few words.

"Sorry Professor, I must have put too little into his drink. I didn't want to over power him with it, seeing as I didn't think it would mix too well with the healing potions I gave him earlier…"

"It's quite all right Poppy. We shall be here later today or tomorrow to finish questioning him. He seems to have an interesting story, and I'm sure that Minerva has a few questions for him too…"

Renegade, as he now called himself, smirked to himself. He had learned to over power the Truth Serum, though not completely. It had to be small amounts, otherwise he wouldn't be able to. The fact that it had a different affect on wolves than it did people helped a hell of a lot as well. He sighed and closed his eyes. Ten minutes later, the Veritaserum finally wore off and he felt himself slipping into darkness…

lilililililililililililil

The boy sleeping in the hospital wing shocked Dumbledore. It was quite obvious that the boy was frightened, as much as he didn't show it. And 'Ren' as in Renegade? Was 'Renegade' the boy's name? The boy flinched and shuddered every time someone looked at him. He hated seeing someone broken like that. Given the fact that Death Eaters had captured the boy, it was a wonder the boy could speak at all! Dumbledore rubbed his temples. And Minerva said that he had spoken CAT to her when he had woken up. It was evident that this Ren was strong, and Dumbledore had the feeling that the potion hadn't worn off, but the boy had fought it. He remembered when he found McGonagall at the gargoyle in his office, yelling things that could possibly be passwords. He had been returning from a little chat with Mr. Weasley about Minister Fudge trying to find a way to fire Arthur.

"_Cockroach Clusters! Fizzing Whizbees! Sugar Quills! Lemon Drops! Dammit! Open up or I will hex you!" McGonagall had been screaming at the gargoyle for some time, as it seemed, as her voice was getting hoarse._

"_Actually Minerva, its 'Lucky Charms'. They're magically delicious, after all." He gave a chuckle, his eyes twinkling. "What is so urgent? I assure you that the gargoyle has a shield charm around it, so any hexes you throw will be bounced back on you. Go ahead and try, I could use a laugh."_

_McGonagall looked at him, shocked for a moment, then she began to breathlessly talk. _

"_Hagrid and I found a boy, almost dead in the woods. Hagrid took him to the Hospital Wing. Albus, I… I think someone abused him. He was having a breakdown and panic attack every time Hagrid or I touched him or spoke to him. I don't think he's a student here, but I also don't think he is a muggle…" She explained to Dumbledore bout the events that occurred in the woods. _

"_Is the boy going to be okay? You say he's in the hospital wing with Hagrid… Last I checked, Poppy was low on potions. I'll have to have Severus bring a few. If the boy is in as bad a condition as you have told me, he's going to need a lot of help, fast."_

And so it went from there. Severus was going to be in and out of the castle for the rest of the summer to restore his and the matron's potion supplies. Minerva lived at the castle year round with Hagrid and Dumbledore, seeing how she didn't have many relatives around the country, and she had things for the Order to do

Dumbledore sighed and entered his office to think for a while. He had to prepare himself for the questioning that he was going to be performing later on. He was quite certain that any trust they had gained from Ren earlier was gone due to the Veritaserum.

And he was quite right...

lilililililililililil

At first, Ren had thought that the people could be trusted. Then, as soon as he sensed the potion coursing through him, he hated them. He knew that with his life, no one should be trusted. If they were to give him a strong enough potion and ask the right questions… Ren shuddered at the thought. All he wanted was to leave and go somewhere very far away. He had heard of a place called Paradise, and knew that it was only open to those who it called. But then, Ren had never been called, and quite frankly, he wouldn't have gone if he could. It didn't hold his interest, and with no other wolves there…

At least Wizards kept his life interesting, no matter how painful the consequences. Ha. He never asked for his family to be killed. Wizard bounty hunters had killed his father, a white wolf with stunning blue eyes and gray paws, and his mother, a deep orange and white colored wolf with green eyes. His brothers and sister, who had named themselves Nicco, Sakazie, and Ed (Ren had never given himself a name, as was wolf custom, instead, he was referred to by his father as the family's 'Black Knight.') were a dusty gray or brown and had golden-yellow eyes and had met the same fate as their parents. Only Ren, who knew he was special because of his black coat and red eyes, had been spared due to the fact that he had been gazing at the moon questioningly from his favorite perch, in a tree away from his family. That night, the moon had taken to be a different color. At first, he had questioned himself and wondered if his eyes were bleeding. That night, the moon had been blood red…

_When he had finally returned to his den site, he came upon a sight that no one, no matter who they were, should have seen. His family had been completely skinned. Alive apparently, as he saw someone from his pack(He wasn't sure who) twitching feebly. Their entrails also littered the area, so it was apparent that someone had wanted to cause them pain. Ren had run as fast as he could from the area, only to return a few days later from the hunger pains. He hadn't learned how to hunt very well yet, his father planning to take the pups out in the summer. He knew his parents wouldn't have wanted him to starve, no matter who he had to eat. He sobbed as he had ripped the flesh from their bodies. He couldn't think of a worse fate... _

Or at least, not until he had been captured by Voldemort's men… He had been six months old at the time when his pack died. Or at least his wolf body had been. In human years, he was seven years old. Wolves aged differently than humans. A wolf's first wolf year was equivalent to nine human years. His second made him thirteen, and so on down the line. To humans, it was a twisted form of math. But…whatever. Ren knew that his wolf body was a little over two. _Still a pup_, he sneered to himself. When he turned seventeen, he would be three, and then he would go into a wolf's version of puberty, and at age twenty-three, he would be an adult at four wolf years. He knew he would live to be over a hundred human years. His wolf body would be between twelve and twenty when he died (given the chance that he wasn't killed early), the twisted sense of math still going on. Wolves aged differently than dogs. No seven years to one human year crap. Wolves were an ancient race that could live to be 160 human years, where as most dogs only survived to be sixteen human years, tops. Pitiful, but the matter of evolution did not concern him.

At the moment, he was more concerned about getting this annoying woman, who called herself his nurse, to leave him alone… And at the moment, that didn't seem possible, no matter how many obscenities and rather pleasant death possibilities for her ran through his mind. She wouldn't leave him alone. That in itself was going to drive the poor wolf insane within a few days.

Then, the lady tried to feed him. She came to him with a bowl, which from the smell, he could tell it was broth. At first, he took no notice in her. Then, when he saw here approaching him with it, he shot her a confused look and eyed the bottle in her hands.

"What. The. Hell. Is. That?" He asked her icily, his voice, though still raspy, held a cold tone.

"Watch your language young man, and this you dinner."

**"How. About. No. "**

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**Author's Notes... Again.**

**Yes, Ren's behavior/emotions is mixed. He isn't visibly broken, and he obviosly has a troubled past. O.o My... I love torturing my charactors. As you can see, he is a bit sarcastic... Yay sarcasm! x3 cough.suggestions. Oh, and as you can see, he is quite irritated with Pomfrey. xD**


	4. Renegade, Meet Your New Fate

**A/N:**

**Holy crap, I did it! I finished this chapter! It's been sitting in my files for a few months now, with only about 1000 words written to it. I wrote over 2000 tonight. XD I've been putting it off forever... Eh... I should have been doing homework or projects or whatever... oh well. The projects aren't due till next Friday, and the homework... tomorrow... YAY PROCRASTINATION. I've been drawing alot of scenes from this fic, during school. I've also drawn Renegade... alot... -nods- To see an exaple of what I've computer-drawn, go to myOtaku page (link on my profile). That damn thing took me a while, but yeah... I'll be posting what I've drawn of him sooner or later in the fan-art section there... mostly because he's drawn like(and kind of from) Wolf's Rain... YAYNESS. **

* * *

Dumbledore glided into the hospital ward without anyone noticing him. They were too caught up in their own little battle, it seemed. He chuckled to himself for a moment, then observed what was in front of him. 

"Young man! For the last time! Do NOT use that kind of language in this ward! And besides, how do you think we fed you during the week you were unconscious? We couldn't put a IV or feeding tube in you due to the state you were in! Would you rather have starved?"

"Yes. I would have. I went three _damn _months without being fed anything but a few pieces of bread and a mal-freaking-nurished rat. And considering what hell I went through, it's a wonder I didn't die then in my pitiful little cage! _Do you not think that I hadn't already accepted that I was going to_ _fucking be killed? _I didn't ask to be saved!" Ren's voice shook with rage. Then, he suddenly sighed and adverted his gaze from the nurse. He gave a small sigh and then spoke in a very quiet voice. "I never asked for any of it. You have no clue what hell my life has been these last eleven months… No clue what so ever…" He looked up. "And do you honestly think that I'm going to accept anything you offer me after last time? I'm not stupid. I can tell that there is something in the broth." His eyes were narrowed.

"It's only medicine! Would it make you feel any better if it were in a bowl and you could spoon it out yourself?"

"I can't use a spoon…" He grumbled.

"Wha-"

"Poppy, why don't you take a small break. A half an hour should do it, if not more." Dumbledore's steady voice cut in.

"B-But Albus! The boy needs to eat! Besides, I haven't cleaned his bandages yet."

"I'm sure that it'll be okay. Take the night off. I'll have Minerva, myself, or Severus check on Mr. Ren." Ren's blood chilled at the sound of the name of 'Severus." It seemed so familiar to him… Dumbledore sat down in a large, overstuffed chair that he conjured with a flick of his wand. "Now, my boy, what do you say-"

He was cut off by a silky, slow voice that sent chills up the wolf's spine. He knew that voice. _God no…_

"Professor Dumbledore, I have those potions you wanted me to-" Snape stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the boy, who was wide-eyed and shaking. "You! You little theif! What the hell are you doing here? I thought Lucius had killed you last October." His cold eyes narrowed, and the boy he remembered to be arrogant and ignorant of the gaze when he had first caught him, was pale, shaking, and mumbling something incoherent.

"What was that?" Snape snapped, causing the boy to flinch and shrink back even more, to the point of almost falling off the bed.

"Severus, would you mind telling me what connections you two have?" Dumbledore's voice was still soft, but the twinkle in his eyes was gone.

"I caught this…boy… trying to steal something from me last October. But, he managed to get away. Days later, the scum came back and tried it again, only to be caught by Lucius Malfoy, and, to my knowledge, Lucius took him to Voldemort. From there, I assumed he was dead." Snape's eyes never left Ren.

"You knew damn well I wasn't dead! You saw me! I remember seeing your face, and hearing your laugh one night, when… when... You...they... I'm sure you still find that wonderfully amusing, you sick, sadistic and twisted basatrd!"

Snape took a step back in shock. "That… That was YOU? How so very… interesting. I'm sure that no one knows of your little… tricks… do they, you mangy dog?" He indicated Dumbledore, who was looking at Snape and Ren in wonder and surprise, but made no move to interfere. "And by Gods boy! Calm down or I will force a calming potion down your throat, and let's just say that you won't enjoy the side effects."

"N-No. They don't, and nor will they ever, as long as I can help it. And if you even try to approach me with one of your poisons, I will rip you limb from limb and then feast on your still beating heart." Ren gave a small laugh accompanied by a grin that would have scared the Grim Reaper. Snape however, was unfazed. He was nonetheless, looking over Ren. Because Ren was a wolf, his human illusion gave off some not-so-human characteristics. His teeth were slightly larger and sharper, giving the appearance of fangs. His arms and legs were slightly hairier, and his eyes still held the predatory glare that his wolf form held, thoguh they continued to flash red, the more irritated he became. Though, something else had also found room to occupy in that glare as well. Fear. Mistrust. And, most of all, intelligence. Not that he hadn't had intelligence before, but since his capture, he had taught himself many things in the long and painful hours of darkness, making him one smart creature that knew how to plan one's elaborate and slow death without getting caught.

Snape gave a small smirk. "I highly doubt you could."

Before Ren could retort, Dumbledore asked them a question that caught him completely off gaurd.

"How do you two know each other, and, if you don't mind me asking, what er… event was this that Professor Snape was present at?"

"This cur tried to rob me TWICE about eleven months ago." Snape paused for a moment. "Then, the next time I saw him, he was completely unrecognizable."

Renegade stared for a moment as he realized that Snape wasn't going to tell Dumbledore who or what he was outright.

Dumbledore could see that Snape was trying to hide something. "What event was it that made him unrecognizable?"

Ren gave a small cough. "It's nothing. Nothing at all." He gave a low growl and turned to Snape. "If you call me 'Cur,' 'Mutt,' or 'Dog' one more time…" He paused, unable to find a threat.

Snape stared for a moment. Dumbledore stood up, and left the room for a moment. Snape glanced at the wolf.

"So. Have you eaten a human, Wolf?"

"Eaten? Maybe. Killed? Yes. Why? I had very good reasons. And still do."

"Really? And that would be…?"

"Get lost, Death Eater."

"No. I'm your elder, and you need to learn your place! Answer me!"

"Elder my ass. I'm not answering your questions other than to insult you. Give it up."

Snape's eyes glittered dangerously. He reached over, and grabbed the boy's shoulders, pinning him to the bed. Not expecting a physical attack, Ren yelped and jerked. Snape gave him a cold, menacing glare, which resulted in the wolf baring his fangs. He gritted his teeth as he felt Snape unintentinally press down harder on a shoulder wound that hadn't yet healed.

"Severus, please unhand the boy. I must say, I'm pretty sure that Poppy won't take kindly to the fact that you are harming a patient that she figured should have been dead." Dumbledore gave a small chuckle. "The fact that he isn't human won't bother her a bit."

Renegade jumped back as if a hot iron had touched him. His eyes flew across the room, looking for a chance to escape.

Dumbledore, seeing his distress, quickly said, "Oh no, don't worry. We wont do anything that will harm you. In fact, we're even going to allow you to stay for the school year. Not as a student, of coarse, but you will be living on the grounds."

"Ren's eyes narrowed. "Judging by the sound of your voice, it doesn't seem like I have a choice in the matter."

Dumbledore sighed. "Sadly, no. The only other choice you have is to leave, and though the Death Eaters probably think of you being dead, there is a large chance of him finding you, regardless of country. You may stay here, for a minimum of a year. That way, Poppy can help you with healing your multiple wounds… Physical and emotional."

The wolf gave a small growl. "It won't be as easy as you think, to keep me confined, that is."

"Oh, you won't be confined. You'll have full access to the school grounds, Hogsmeade, and about a 10 mile radius from there. You can roam freely as you wish, but I would like you to check in once every few days after you are released from the Hospital Ward. You will also be given a room of your own, that you can do what ever you want with. Think of it as… a temporary territory claim, though you may stay after your year is up."

Ren just stared. Snape laughed dryly. "See, Wolf? You've got your own little safe house, with everyone at your beck and call." He was still muttering to himself as he turned around and stepped out of the room.

Ren ignored him, and continued to gaze at Dumbledore. "How do you know I won't run off?"

The older wizard became more stern. "I trust you not to. I will have a few Aurors to find you, and after that, you will be collared with either something like this…" He held up a small necklace, a small, silver pentacle dangling from it. "Or a collar very similar to a dog collar. This will cause you to feel an intense shock every time you come close to the maximum perimeter." He noted how the boy's eyes widened slightly.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid not. Your safety is our main concern right now."

Ren gave him a fish eye. "Really. And what am I to do when the damn students come?"

"I'd suggest you just try to steer clear of them as much as possible. Though, you can let yourself be seen, if questioned just tell them that you are here as the new physical education teacher and to help Hagrid out with Care of Magical Creatures class, as an extra-curricular activity from your own school."

"You want me to TEACH!"

"Only if you want to. Personally, I think it'd do some of them good to become physically fit. not to mention you will recieve a nice-sized salary."

"But my human illusion is... Hell, I'M only about sixteen or seventeen-freaking-years old! They wont listen to me if I'm the same age as them. i don't know human society well, but I have seen the disrespect children cause."

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. In fact, I'm pretty sure they will. Now, I think we should wrap up this conversation before Poppy permanently bans me from visiting you." He gave a small chuckle. "There's a bathroom over by her office that you are free to use and shower in. "Professor McGonagall will be up to visit you shortly. I must say though, you did a good job at shocking her with your cat-speak…" Dumbledore chuckled.

"How long will it be until I can get out of here?"

"You'll be out of the hospital wing before the term starts, September first."

"Oh joy." Came the sarcastic reply.

"When I return, I hope to see you clean and I'd like to see what your true form looks like, without force. In return, I'll see to it that you're in your own room, and away from Poppy by tomorrow."

"Fine. Just get me away from the woman."

Dumledore chuckled again, and stood up. "I'll be seeing you later, Mr. Renegade."

Ren sighed as the man left the room. He looked to both sides to make sure that the woman was nowhere in sight, and hesitantly attempted to stand up. He crumpled to the ground as his legs gave out on him.

"What the-!" _I don't remember being this weak… _His right leg felt as if it were on fire, as did various other parts of his body, from severe nerve damage.

After a few minutes struggling, he managed to crawl to his feet, and he slowly made his way to the little bathroom.

The first thing he did, was take a nice, long, shower (He had to work a little to figure out how the knobs worked). When he finally did step out of the bathroom, he was dressed in some muggle clothes and his hair was cut shorter and spiked slightly. He had a small, dark patch of hair on his chin, also neatly cut. He was wearing a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a black wind-breaker. He limped over and sat down onto the nearest hospital bed, where a tray of food lay. On it, was a simple, small slice of cooked meat. He sniffed it, looking for anything about it that smelled wrong. Rabbit meat. And, judging by the slight stink, there was a bit of something else in it as well…

"It's for you. There's some healing medicine in it, but it's not anything that will kill you. Dumbledore said that it might be better for you to try solid foods." Madam Promfrey looked him over. "And where is your hospital gown?"

Ren bit back a growl, and ignored her. He proceeded to tenderly prod the meat, and, though finding it somewhat soft, he decided it was edible. It was wolfed down quickly, and soon there was nothing left.

"Now, Professor McGonagall stopped by earlier, and said that she wanted me to tell you that she will see you tomorrow morning to help you plan for your stay here. But, as for now, I'm gong to clean your wounds, give you a few potions, and test and see if you're ready to leave the Hospital Wing."

Ren forced himself to hold still for the psycho-nurse's poking and prodding. When she was done, she declared him to be well enough to go, and gave him some painkillers to dull the pain from the sensitive nerves. Madam Promfrey kept telling him that it would be slightly easier for her to see his real form, so she could see how badly the damage had been done to his real body. He refused. She also explained to him that she would come and see him once a day for a couple of weeks for physical therapy, much to his dislike. After the first few weeks, he would only have to see her once a week, if at all (he was overjoyed upon hearing that.) She soon left him alone, and he quickly took the chance to sneak out. But, the minute he stepped out the door, he ran head-on into somebody, and lost his concentration on his human illusion for a moment. He never realized it was down. He backed up, shaking his head, not looking to see what he bumped into.

"'ey! Watch where yeh' goin'! Wait a minit'! You're tha' dog!" The giant of a man squatted down. " Come 'ere boy!"

Ren's eyes snapped open. A voice echoed through his mind… _"'Ere boy. I won' hurt yeh." _Evidently, that Dumbledore man didn't tell the giant about who -or what- he was. Deciding that the man could be trusted, he snapped on his human illusion.

"Wha' the!" Realization suddenly dawned on the man's features. "A wolf?"

Ren nodded, and stuck out his hand. "Renegade. You?"

Hagrid shook his hand with a strong, firm grip. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keepr of Keys and Care of Magical Creatures professor. It's an honor to meet a wolf like yourself, it really is."

"Thanks." Ren recalled something Dumbledore mentioned about the giant in their earlier conversation. "That man, Albus Dumbledore, I think he was… He told me that I'd get to help you teach your class, as part of my cover story for being here…" Ren sniffed the air. "You have a dog?"

"Yea' well, Dumbledore tol' me to escor' you down to yer chambers. I'd love it, if yeh helped me with me classes. Do you no' like dogs?" Hagrid inquired, as he helped Ren up, and they walked down the hall together.

"I like dogs. They just usually don't like me." Ren laughed. "Humans have bred it into them that wolves are creatures to hate. But, once they overcome that instinct, we get along just fine."

"Tha's good. I'm sure Fang'll like yeh."

Ren didn't answer him. Instead, he was surveying the path they were taking, memorizing every little detail.

"Well, 'ere we are."

Ren looked up. There was a large stairway leading up to a tower.

"This is normally one of the astronomy towers. Dumbledore said yeh'd like it because o' the clear veiw of th' moon yeh've got. Yeh can decorate it any way yeh'd like, but fer now, it's a bit bare… "

They climbed the staircase, (Ren had to stop to rest a few times, not being in a great climbing condition, and all.) Whe he looked around the room, he found it to be a bit spacy, and it was indeed bare. There was a bed in one corner, a bookshelf filled with books in another, and a few pictures here and there (Of wolves, Ren noticed with a smirk. The wolves in the pictures stared at him in awe, as they had been unaware that any of there kind had still been alive), but the rest of the room had been jinxed to look like somewhat of a foresty-thing. The floor was dirt, and there were several plants scattered about, such as bushes and small trees, and the like. The ceiling was jinxed to look like the night sky above them. Ren decided he rather liked the room. It was a hell of a lot better than his cage, and it reminded him of his time spent with his family. Yes, he liked it…

Hagrid watched for a moment as the wolf surveyed his new living space. "Yeh can also password it…" He explained how to, for the next few minutes, and Ren listened intently. When he was done, Ren nodded.

"Okay. I have a few questions for you, myself. How do you teach Care of Magical Creatures class, where can I get meals, and what do I do when the students get here?"

"Eh. I can't answer the last two, tha's the Headmaster's job, and I dunno wha' he wan's yeh to do. But basically, for my class, it serves the same purpose as its name. Yeh'd find it entertaining."

They spent the next hour or so discussing the school, and Ren dropped his illusion and sat down nest to a chair Hagrid had conjured up.

"Well, would yeh look at the time!" Hagrid said, glancing at his pocket watch. "I've gotta go feed Fang. I'll be seeing yeh then…"

H left and Ren thought about the half giant while flipping through the pages of a book. Yes, he decided that he liked the giant of a man…

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yeah.I didn't really like how this chapter turned out. But, look on the bright side... new charactor(s) introduced in the next chapter! (Can you say abisexual crow named Karasu? x3 No, not like the one from Yu Yu Hakusho. I just like crows, and needed a name, so I looked up the translation of 'crow' in a japanese translator, and that's what it came up with... I might go with Krage instead though... (it's Danish for crow. Submit in a reveiw which would be better)Plus 2 stray dogs based off two at the shelter that I love to death...) Ack. I'm giving everything away... . Just wait... you'll see.**

**I'd -love- to have 15 more reveiws for this chapter... Reveiws inspire me to write. The more reveiws I get, the quicker you get the next chapter.**


	5. Several Unwanted Encounters

**A/N:**

**Yeah. Early update. But, I've got my two prjects to work on, and I need something to do to help take my mind away from the stress... -sighs-**

**In this chapter, Ren meets Harry for the first time. Yay. Read it. Reveiw it. The more reveiws I get, the faster the next chapter will come. I also love suggestions.**

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"Okay. Now, before we start to discuss your…situation… we need to give you a human name. 'Renegade' or 'Ren' will not be enough, and it could raise suspicions. So, any suggestions?" 

"Nope, not really. I do see your point, though. It's not my fault that I had ten seconds to think up a name for myself…"

McGonagall sighed. Renegade was proving to be somewhat difficult. She couldn't blame him, of coarse, but still…

Both of them were in Ren's living quarters. McGonagall was seated in the large chair Hagrid left, and Ren was laying beside her, facing her. The black wolf yawned widely, revealing the row of sharp, dagger-like teeth.

"Okay…" She sighed and thought for a moment. "How about… Nikolas R. Vachss(1)?"

"Vax? Nikolas?"

"V-a-c-h-s-s. Or it could be your first name. Whatever you choose. Think of a name."

Ren didn't say anything. Then… "Sure. How about… 'Kavik' R. Vachss it is them…" He paused. "Professor Vachss… Nice ring to it, ne?" He chuckled dryly.

"Kavik(2)?"

"Yep. My father's name. I pretty much hero-worshipped my father." He gave a small smile. "He was a white wolf, with grey ears and paws. He had crystal clear blue eyes… He was a very regal, strong wolf. His love for his pack was astounding…" Ren's eyes closed in remembrance.

"Oh…"

The was silence for a moment.

"So… what am I going to do to the runts?"

"Push ups, running exercises, that sort of thing. Just remember. They're only human. They aren't wolves, therefore, their stamina and such aren't going to be up to your standard."

"Okay. Do they know any self-defense?"

"Such as?" McGonagall inquired.

"Swordplay. Jujitsu. Karate."

Now McGonagall was interested. "You do?"

"Some. Human self-defense can come in handy. I particularly like swordplay myself. The sword is like an extra set of fangs for me." Noticing her questioning look, he said, "I grew up in Japan. Born in Russia, spent my first 5 years in Japan, moved to Russia again, and then, after… after my parents died, I switched back and forth between the two and the surrounding countries. I've been in several parts of Asia, Africa, part of North America, and obviously, Europe."

"Wow. You… walked all this?"

"Most of it. I hitched rides every once and a while. Almost got eaten by some people in Taiwan…" He muttered darkly. "I've seen things that would horrify you."

She nodded. _I don't doubt it…_

"Anyway," She said, switching back to her stern, teacher mode. "For the first few weeks, Dumbledore said to just stay out of sight. He said we might have to lie about your age, and make you a very young-looking twenty year old. And you could pass for it. Those…scars… make you look older. And you've lost the youthful look in your eye that those your age still have." She said, sympathetically. He stopped her, red eyes piercing into her like knives.

"I don't want your sympathy. If that's all that we have to discuss today, I'd like to be going."

"Madam Promfrey coming to check up on you?"

"Exactly."

McGonagall chortled a little, and walked out of Ren's room to leave him to his business.

Once she was gone, he sighed and crawled out of the sixty-foot high window using a makeshift ladder. Those stairs would kill him one day. Besides. That wench of a nurse was coming…

He landed smoothly, when he jumped the last three feet. He stretched and headed over to Hagrid's hut, where Fang could be heard barking…

"What name has our canine friend chosen for himself?" Dumbledore asked.

"'Kavik R. Vachss'."

"How interesting."

"He knows martial arts as well. Sword play. Jujitsu, and Karate."

Dumbledore nodded. "He may teach the basics. I don't want owls from parents and the Ministry complaining about me teaching their children how to fight muggle-style."

"True." McGonagall sighed. "He adapts pretty well to places. He has only been conscious for a few days, and now he no-longer is as jumpy."

"Yes, but I'm concerned for the emotional scars mostly. Deeper wounds take a while to heal. His view on the world has been anything but wonderful."

"I know. He told me that he was almost eaten in Taiwan."

Dumbledore rubbed his temples. "I can only imagine what he's been through… He may seem to trust us now, but remember, he's still an animal, and he will follow his instincts, no matter the cost. That's why I'm afraid for him. Every voice inside of him is telling him to leave. But, only my promise of a collar seems to have held him back. The Death Eaters did something horrible to him, something that corrupted his animalistic behavior. He's become placid, calm, and manipulative. I'm sure we'll find it difficult to gain his full trust…"

"Should we go brief him on what his cover story will be? Merlin knows we won't be able to hide him from the students forever. The earlier we tell him, the better."

"Excellent idea. And you're most certainly correct…"

**Three days later**

"YOU GOD DAMNED CROW! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"But I like you, my wolfie friend." The black crow hopped onto Ren's head and nibbled his ear affectionately. Ren banged his head repeatedly into the wall. This had been going on for three days now. Renegade had trotted down to Hagrid's hut, only to find him not there. Fang had been barking at some crows in the pumpkin patch, from Hagrid's hut. One crow however, instantly took a liking to the wolf, and harassed him since with affection and the like. And Ren could not get away from him. He even got to a point where he had tried to kill the crow. That failed, and he ended up with multiple new cuts from a large thorn bush. The crow of coarse, adored him even more.

"Fuck you, Karasu."

"I'm sure you'd love to. I know I would." The crow cawed back happily. Ren's eye twitched and shuddered.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Not only are we different species... But I am not-"

"Awww… You're educated. That makes me love you even more." The crow chuckled, cutting the wolf off, just to get a reaction out of him. "So what. You're straight. And I don't care what your sexuality is."

"I never said I was straight. Are you always like this? Are you always this… clingy?"

"Nope. But today is special."

Ren sweat dropped. "How is today any different than the last three?"

"Dunno. But it is." The crow laughed again. He ruffled his feathers and sat down contentedly, still on top of the young wolf's head. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the crow found himself in between the jaws of a wolf. But, the jaws did not press down.

"Stop. Harassing. Me."

"What? Do you have a problem with homoseuxalism?" The crow asked, indignantly.

"Hell no. But I do have a problem with anything that seems to think I'm here for amusement purposes only." Ren growled.

Karasu gave a small sigh. "Fine. I'll stop pestering you. But that doesn't mean I won't follow you around."

Ren thought about it. He could just kill the crow, but then again, an aerial veiw of things would help him a hell of a lot. "Fine. But you'll have to be my eyes in the sky."

"Deal."

Ren let him go and turned away. He began trotting to the greenhouse when he heard the crow mutter, "Jeez, don't get your tail in a knot."

Ren lunged at him, and Karasu flapped away, laughing like a madman.

The wolf sighed, but continued to his destination. Dumbledore said that Greenhouse Two would have some Wolfsbane in it. Professor Sprout told him that she'd teach him how to properly grow it over the school year. Once he got what he needed, he glided over to the lake, and laid down beside it for a quick nap. His right back leg was still giving him trouble, (Madam promfrey said it would always, but with some help, the pain could go away) and it was now throbbing painfully. Various other cuts had re-opened from his trek, but he didn't find them serious. After an hour, he stood up and began to walk towards the whomping willow. Being care to avoid the branches, he slipped into the entrance to get to the shrieking shack. Once there, he walked towards the main street, just to look around to see if there was anything of interest. There was nothing but some people walking in and out of the various stores. He sighed and a familer scent caught his interest. Fresh meat. He followed the smell down one of the back alleys, and soon came upon a sight of quarreling dogs and a red-faced butcher. Two dogs, a German Shepherd(3) and a Shar Pei/Hsuky mix(4) were fighting an entire pack of mutts over the hind quarter of a pig. The butcher was trying to beat the dogs away to recover his stolen meat, however, it was not working. The meat was in tatters, but that didn't stop the dogs. Ren surveyed the sight with interest. And he considered his options.

_Hmm… Should I jump into the fight, and try to separate it? Walk away and let those dogs be chewed to bits? Descicions, decisions… _Something beside him caught his eye. _Or…_

He threw the bucket of water, drenching the quarreling animals. Yelping, the mutt pack ran away, the toehr two stayed and tried to grab as much meat as possible before they too, ran off. The butcher started yelling something at him, but, ignoring it, he bent down, grabbed a few pieces of meat and walked away munching contentedly, as if nothing had happen.

He followed the trail of the two lone dogs, and soon came upon to the spot where they were feasting. He hid in the shadows for a few moments, then stepped out.

"Bit of bad luck you had back there. Idiots. The odds were against you from the start. You had both the butcher and that pack of street mutts on you. " Renegade chuckled.

At the sound of his voice, the German Shepherd jumped up, taking a defensive battle stance. The other one just stood back.

"Get out of here, black one." The German Shepherd snarled. "Leave us be. We have no other food to spare for other dogs."

"'Other dogs?' You dare to insult me like that?" Ren gave a mischevious grin

"Wolf then. Leave us be, or I'll rip you to pieces." She growled.

"Good Gods, calm down. I'm not here to steal you food, or to fight you. I was bored, saw that you guys needed food, and decided, Hell, why not? God knows I could show you a thing or two about hunting, and both of you are half starved."

"Really? You'd do that? For us?" The Shar Pei mix spoke up. He was sitting, with his head cocked to the side.

"Don't listen to him, Hayate(5). It's a wolf trap." The Shepherd snapped.

Ren rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Stay here for a moment. Even if you don't, I'll find you. I'll be back in a minute." He trotted away, and sniffed through the brush for a moment. He picked up the sent of dust feathers, and slowed to a crouch. Spying his prey, he slowly creapt up, and at the right second, he leapt, and with a snap, the Ptarmigan was dead in his jaws. He walked back to where he left the dogs, only to find that they were still surprisingly there.

"Here," He said dropping the Ptarmigan at the female's feet. She looked at him, confusion in her eyes.

"Why are you helping us?"

"I dunno really. I guess that since I'm to be the wizards' dog for a year, I need someone to accompany me, other than that damn crow that's been following me around."

"Karasu?"

"Yep. That's the one. Annoying little pest he is…"

The dogs chuckled. "Yeah. He is."

"I'm… Sasha." Said the German Shepherd. "He's Hayate. We're both abandoned. We met at the shelter. I was on the next slate for Euthanasia, because of my so-called 'attitude problem." She growled. "I have no idea what they're talking about." The others laughed at this.

"I was up, because… well, my human kid moved away. He didn't like me much, but his family left me tied in the backyard with no food or water…" Hayatemumbled, sadly.

"You'd really rather not know my story." Ren muttered.

"You're a wolf. Humans hate your kind. I must agree, your life has had to have royally sucked." Sasha said dryly.

"Oh how right you are…" They spoke for the rest of the day. Ren gave them a few hunting tips, andHayate and Sasha told him of a few hints on hour to steal food from human food stands…

Renegade had been at Hogwarts for a couple of weeks when Dumbledore allowed him to be escorted to Diagon Alley. Outside of those who were already at the castle, Ren hadn't come in any other contact with huamns. Sure, he went to Hosmeade, but he was mainly there to visit Sasha and Hayate…

As he looked around at the stores, he agreed to meet up with Flitwick( Twrelany had originally been the one chosen for him to be shadowed by, but she seemed to think of him as a Grim… So that arrangment didn't turn out too well.) in an hour, after he gathered any and all things he figured he'd need for his teaching position. So far, he didn't see much. He had his purchases in his bag, which could hold any amount and still be light and easy for carrying. That was fine with him, and his money bag felt considerably lighter after buying a few books he hadn't found in the school. Titles such as 'How to grow Wolsbane fast and easy!' and 'Paradise… Is It Real?' 'Wolf's Rain- The Tale of Five Wolves' Journey to Reach Rakuen…' The one that caught his interest the most- 'Kavik of the Apollo Pack, Is He Real?'

Renegade growled in annpyance when he heard a familier caw coming from up the street. Not paying attention to where he was going, he was sent sprawling onto his back as he collided with someone.

"Ow! Sorry, you okay?" The voice of the other came. Ren looked up.

"Just dandy." He muttered dryly, testing his leg to see if it was 'workable.'

"I'm sorry I bumped into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Ren glanced at the boy. He had untidy black hair and glasses. There was a lightening shaped scar on his forehead.

"Who're you?" Ren asked.

"Oh… Harry. Harry Potter." Harry said, surprised. His shock increased even more when the other boy paid him no acknowledgment.

"Hogwarts?" The other pressed on.

"Yeah. 6th year. You?"

Ren made a mental note about the boy, and to make sure he pressed the boy extra hard when he saw him again. Thoguh, he could have sworn he heard the name before...

"Er, d'you go to Hogwarts as well?" Harry asked again.

"You could say that."

"Oh, er… What's your name? And what year are you in?"

"My name is Ren- er, I mean Kavik. And I've got to go. The well-meaning-but-slightly-batty headmaster wanted to see me in an hour." He left quickly, disappearing into the crowd, leaving a very confused Harry behind.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(1) Andrew Vachss is an awesome writer. He's also an Attorny in New York City for sexual abuse cases in children.**

**(2) Kavik is the name of my 3 year oldwolf-dog, who was named after Walt Morey's book, 'Kavik the Wolf-Dog'**

**(3) and (4)The German Shepherd and Shar Pei mix are bothdogs at the No-kill shelter I volunteer for. I don't know their exact stories, but do know that they both came from Animal Control, and that Sasha hates kids and other dogs.**

**(5) Hayate. The Shar-Pei mix looks almsot exactly like Black Hayate from Full Metal Alchemist. He looks like a Dark grey/ creme/ reddish ears-husky with Shar-Pei ears. x3 I want to take him home so bad...**

**_Yes, I know I made a few edits to this chapter. I don't care what you think about said edits, if you notice them. Thank you. _  
**


	6. Nothing Interesting Happened Today

**Author's notes:**

**WHEE! Finally, An update. x3 I'm sorry it took so long, but with school and other fics... Gah... Plus, some serious writer's block... So yes, suggestions are needed. x.x I know where I want this fic to go, but I need more detail... x3**

**I must say though, I'm having fun writng this fic. If you like Yu Yu Hakusho as well, my YYH/HP Crossover is coming along well, so you may want to check it out, if you need a few good laughs. xP**

* * *

"…Welcome back, students!" Dumbledore's voice rang out in the Great Hall. "This year, I would like to welcome back Professor Remus Lupin to the position of your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. We also have a new class, Physical Training, taught by a new addition to our staff, Coach K. Vachss. Unfortunately, he was not able to make it to the Welcoming feast tonight, but you will be seeing him soon enough."

"I wonder why we have a new subject." Hermione whispered, frowning. "And Physical Training? Odd…"

"Yeah, but it sounds like muggle gym." Said Harry. "In that case, it should be an easy pass…"

"Or the coach could be a total ass and it'll be like having to read Shakespeare without cliffnotes…" Ron mumbled.

"Ew… Point taken…" Harry muttered. Hermione gave an indignant cough.

"What's wrong with Shakespeare?"

**The next morning**

"Let go of me, Dammit!" Ren growled and struggled against Hagrid's vice-like grip.

"Take yer medicine! It's not my fault yeh got yerself inta a figh'"

Ren didn't answer, he just let out a savage snarl and snapped around wildly.

"Hagrid? Can we come in? It's us!" Three voices called from the outside of the hut.

"Sure! Jus' be careful!" Hagrid called.

The Golden Trio cautiously stepped in, and were taken by surprise at the sight before them.

Hagrid had the knap of the animal's neck in one hand, a vile in the other, and his knee pinned the black beast down. By some amount of luck, Ren had managed to turn and get a sleeve of Hagrid's jacket in his steel-like jaws, and was hanging on while snarling various threats in various wolf languages in various dialects.

"Holy! Hagrid, what the bloody hell-!"

Ron was cut off when Hagrid managed to rip his sleeve out of the wolf's mouth. In the short time period before Ren knew the fabric had escaped him, Hagrid dumped the liquid down his throat and snapped his jaws shut. For good measures, to make the liquid go down, Ren received a whack on the tip of his nose, making him swallow the vile potion. Coughing and sputtering, he was released from Hagrid's grip and he shot under the bed, roaring.

"Sorry 'bou' tha'." Hagrid said, smiling apologetically. "He got inta a few fights in town, an' he don' take well ta medicine…"

"What is he, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, staring at the ruby eyes glowering from under the large bed.

"Nuthin more than a normal mutt. Found 'im in the forest a while ago." Hagrid reached for a plate of lumpy pastries. "Vensin roll?"

"A normal dog? Why's he got red eyes?" Harry asked, declining Hagrid's offer.

"Jus' a genetics. So… How's yer return been so far?"

"Fine. Snape's a bit more agitated than normal though…" Ron muttered darkly. "20 points deducted for sneezing!"

"Have yeh had the new teacher yet?"

"Nope. We have him next though." Hermione sighed. "No one else that we asked has had him yet either."

"I expect yer his firs' class then. Good luck to yeh." Hagrid chuckled. "Yeh'll need it."

"Why's that?"

"Trus' me." Hagrid said, chuckling slightly. He turned his attention to the ruby eyes under the bed. "You there! Take these out, and give em to yer odd lil' friends." He tossed a bag containing three Venison Rolls at the wolf, who caught it deftly and shot out the door...

"Sasha." Ren dropped the bag at the sleeping dog's feet. "Split these between you and Hayate. I've got a class in… fifteen minutes... Plus, my stomach can't handle anything past soup and bread…"

Sasha yawned and looked between Renegade and the bag. "Thanks. Have fun." She laughed. "Don't kill anyone."

"I'll try not too." Ren turned and began walking towards the Quidditch field…

"I wonder where the teacher is…"

"I don't know. No one's seen him…"

."Maybe he got freaked out, 'cause it's his first time teaching, y'know?"

They suddenly heard the sound of shuffling behind them. They turned, to see a boyish man, dressed entirely in black. Black slacks. Black shoes. In addition to that, the boy was wearing a black silk-like dress-shirt. A chain hung around his neck, a silver pentagram attached to it. His black hair was slightly spiked, yet short, obviously very recently being trimmed. There was a small, dark patch of fuzz under his lip. His cold, gold-flecked grey-blue eyes stared icily at them, analyzing them.

"Is the teacher coming? Were you sent to tell us to go somewhere?" Hermione asked. The boy's eyes shot towards her, and she felt a chill go down her spine.

"Granger, isn't it?" Hermione nodded, confused. "I would suggest in the near future not to assume things. It could get you killed."

A murmur went through the group of Gryffindors.

"Shut up, fools!" The boy snapped. He pulled out a clip board and went down the roll, reverse alphabetically. "Ronald Weasley?"

"What?"

"A simple 'present' would have been fine. Dean Thomas?"

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

Ren froze and glared at the speaker. "I, Mr. Weasley, am what one might call 'Satan,' also known as your new physical education teacher."

"How can you be? I met you in Diagon Alley! You never told me you were a teacher!"

"I didn't feel the need to, Potter!" Ren snapped. "I am Kavik Vachss. Coach Vachss, or Professor Vachss. I don't really give a damn which. Now, shut up and let me do my fucking job!"

The students were stunned into silence as Ren continued taking roll.

"He has an even worse temper than Snape!" Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione. The two nodded their agreements.

"You know, you three," Ren said, coming towards them. "I'm a hell of a lot more generous than your precious potions mater will ever be. I have my good days, and my bad days. Today happens to be a mixture of the two." He saw the looks on their faces. "And yes, my hearing is better than you could ever imagine." He sneered.

"I want you guys first to run laps around the Quidditch Field. One is unacceptable. Five is the maximum. Anything in between…" He snorted. "I'll be running with you. Go."

They paused, perplex for a moment, and with several shrugs, the students began running after the jogging boy. Soon enough, Harry was reaching the end of his first lap, many of the other, lest athletic kids behind him. He was exhausted, and he could only imagine how the others felt… Except his teacher, who was still in front of him by several yards, limping, but otherwise jogging easily.

Ren sighed. They were pathetic. He pulled out a whistle, and called them all back.

"Alright. That was… pathetic. Really. By the end of the year, you will all be able to run at least three times around your field, and still have energy left over."

Many mumbled.

"Shut it. Now. Today is the first day of classes. I want you to know now, that I do not accept slackers. My class is going to be long and hard." A crow near-by gave a caw, which sounded oddly enough like a giggle. The teacher rolled his eyes. "I will never give you an activity that is impossible for you to do, however it may seem. If you begin to feel weak, light headed, etceteras, let me know immediately. The course plan: I will teach you exercises, we will play various games, and, if I deem you ready, basic martial arts. Everyday, when you get here, I want you to stretch, then jog one full lap around the field, then stand over by that goal post. After all of your classmates complete their laps, we will begin the day's activities. Any questions?"

Neville Longbottom raised his hand slowly and uneasily. Ren nodded at him.

"H-How old are you, sir? Why do you have a…limp?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. This wasn't what he was expecting… He sighed and decided to play along.

"I'm about twenty-five. And I'm limping, because my leg was shattered and refuses to heal correctly."

"Sir, if your leg is broken, then why are you out here running?" Hermione asked fiercely. "It must not be a bad break then."

Ren glared at her. She wasn't getting on his good side very quickly. He lifted up his right pant leg, revealing his severely twisted right leg. The class gasped when they saw it. The bones stuck out at a sharp angle, what one could guess to be around forty-five degrees. Very painful.

"Wha-"

"It isn't any of your business what happened to it. And the reason it isn't healing isn't because I use it. It's going to give me trouble for the rest of my life, and I refused your _wonderful…" _Heavy sarcasm. "…School nurse when she offered to remove it." Ren scratched behind his ears. "Oh. You two-" He indicated Ron and Harry. "Go into the Quidditch shed, and there should be a bunch of brightly coloured foam balls, netted and tied to the floor. They will try to escape, so be careful. Bring those and about eight bowling pins out. We're going to play 'Bowling Pin Dodgeball, wizard-style…'"

-----

"So, Mr. Ren. How did your first class go?"

"So, Headmaster. How would you expect it, when half the class has the IQ of an overcooked mashed potato, and thinks you don't have the power to assign them detention?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "You enjoyed yourself?"

"…Yes…" The wolf sighed. "This is going to be a long year though…"

"Oh, really? Why's that?"

They were sitting in Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore behind the desk, Ren on the couch.

"I feel that I am not qualified fully to teach the Dimwits to run properly without killing them. I /request/ help from someone who actually would know what he was doing."

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "I'll see what I can do. How's your stay? Feeling any better? I noticed that you seem to have a bit of a stalker." He indicated the crow sitting with his beak under its wing on top of Ren's fuzzy mass of hair.

"I'd feel better if this damned bird would leave me alone. I'm also grateful that you allowed the dogs in the castle." Ren sighed. "I'm going to go to the Great Hall to try to get something to eat before the students get there. Permission to leave?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Go ahead. I'll go with you."

Shrugging, Ren turned, and the two of them walked off in the direction of the cafeteria.

------

"Crap."

Ren stared as students began filling the hall.

"What the hell is their problem? Isn't the dinner time… seven?" The wolf glanced at McGonagall, who was sitting next to him.

"Yes, but sometimes some will come in early so they can start early on homework." She chuckled briskly. "Of course, most of them still managed to find a way to work into the night…"

Ren nodded. "Yeah… I remember having to go nights without sleep because of my… 'homework,' when I was with a mentor in Japan." He laughed. "She was a tough hag, but she was a good teacher, if you learned to pass her arithmetic-slash-swordplay spars." He was staring intently at the steak in front of him. "Damn it! It's tempting me…" He sighed and reached for the bowl of broth his 'doctor' left for him.

Snape sneered at the boy as eh sat down. "What's this? You learned to fight with bits of metal? Pathetic."

McGonagall opened her mouth, but Ren stared, glaring, at the Potion's Master. Dumbledore chose to pay attention to niether, and was engrossed in a conversation with Flitwick about the price of socks going up.

"At least I don't need a little wooden stick to claim my strength. Hell, you'd be screwed in a fight if you lost that precious twig."

"Yes well, magic can work long distance. You do not need to be facing your opponent for it to work. Potions can also be useful."

"Potions, I can work well with. But you know, a poisoned dart, a gun, poisonous foods, and swords and such can work well long distance."

"Ah, going the weak, muggle way of doing things, are we, you mangy mutt?" Snape said, amusement in his voice.

"Fine then, fucker. A spar. You and me. Anything goes. We'll see who's stronger."

"Renegade!" McGonagall hissed, cuffing the wolf lightly on the back of the head. "I can tolerate your language to a point, and I know you're working on it, but there is no reason to insult Severus like that."

"What's a matter, dog? Do you let people walk all over you like that all the time? Or are you-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The transfiguration teacher shouted, as Ren snarled savagely, springing to his feet. "If you two are going to kill each other, do it somewhere else, but both of you need to grow up, or at least leave the Great Hall, so you don't disturb the students!"

Said hall rang with silence as the students turned and stared at the staff table. Growling lowly, Ren stood up.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade to grab a bag of dog food. My offer still stands, _Snape." _The name was said with a touch of distaste.

"Ah, and what an interesting fight it will be. But I'd think it fair to keep my head and let you recover from your latest escapade first, so neither of us have to face Pomfrey."

Ren forced himself not to kill the man there on the spot. Instead, he walked out of the Great hall, his eyes flickering back to his original red, in his rage…

-----

"What the hell…?"

Hayate stared at the fifty pound bag and three bowls Ren set down.

"It's puppy chow. I'm told that it will help build up anything missed from starvation and injuries and such… The bowls are for you and Sasha, you know… Food and water…"

"Thought this one out quite well, didn't you." Sasha muttered, sarcastically. Ren rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well, hunts aren't going to go well every night… and you two are emaciated…"

"Shut. Up."

Snorting, Ren scooped a bowl each for the dogs. "I hate treating you like a human treats dogs… But I'm the only damned creature with thumbs… Though it probably would have been easier just to rip the damned thing open and let you help yourself…" Ren mumbled curses and finally threw the bowls into the corner of the room and ripped the bag open, spilling dog food on the floor. "There. Be happy."

He stretched, black paws extending, hackles up.

"Just take the little buggers and make them run laps all day." Hayete suggested.

"Can't"

"Have you tried to make them knock each other out with dogdeball?"

"Tried it. Had Flitwick hex the dodgeballs, even."

"How about-"

"Nope. I can't make them play chicken with broomsticks."

"Darn."

"That sucks. They've pretty much limited you to what you can do." Sasha yawned, white teeth gleaming.

"Yep."

Ren picked up a random stick laying about his room, and threw it, boredly.

"Fetch."

"Damn it! I'm not your fucking dog!" Sasha leapt up, and tackled him. soon, they were clamped onto each other's neck scruff, neither wanting to let go.

"You sure? Because last I looked, you had no wolf blood, so you must be a dog."

"Shut up, Wolf-boy! I may be a dog, but my intelligence in sparring surpasses yours!"

Ren's red eyes gleamed in anticipation. "Want to try that theory?"

"You know it."

Karasu flew in through the opened window, and glided over the snarling flea bags to land on top of the Shar-pei mix's head.

"They're at it again, aren't they?" The bird laughed in amusement.

"Yep. They'll stop in about two or three hours, depending on whether or not one decides just to throw the other out the window." Hayete munched contentedly on bits of kibble. "So. See anything of interest lately?"

"No, unless you consider Edgar, the Giant Squid, taking two first years hostage… Which isn't that interesting…"

"True enough." Both were quiet for a moment, listening to the vast snarling and tumbling from the other two canines. Hayete spoke again. "You know, it's always interesting to watch the two of them take out their unfufilled sexual desires out on eachother, by attempting to rip each other's throats out every other night."

He only had a moment to brace himself as two furry shapes came flying at him in indignation.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Umyay. o.o **

**Reviews are awesome. Long reveiws are better. They help boost my self-esteem, which gets me writing more. xP So...**

**Questions? Comments? Chocolate? **


	7. Crups Bite hard

**Author's notes**

**Yo. I live. Sorry it's taken about a year to get this up. It took me three days to write this, out of those ten months. Yeah. -fails-. My computer killed the first draft, but mreh. Just a lot of stuff going on. Heh. Be grateful that my muses are returning! I plan on working on either that FAKE fic, or Witchcraft and Demons next. I have a side story thing written for WaD, but I can't post it until the next chapter of WaD is up. Fwee.  
**

**Reviews are nice. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters. Use said characters (Ren, Karasu, Sasha, and Hayete, as well as any others I may have forgotten) with my permission only. I'll hurt you otherwise.  
**

* * *

_He ran. He couldn't stop. There was a figure ahead, a fellow wolf; one whose features he could not make out. There were voices behind him, loud and angry_. 

_He kept running towards the other figure. His savior._

_Never mind that his leg was throbbing in an unbearably numb way. Never mind that he had left them all behind. Never mind the mass of bloody fur and feathers that littered the ground around him. Never mind the…_

_He heard the shout summoning the deadly curse, and could feel the heat, his surroundings lighting up green as the light approached him…_

Ren awoke, heart pounding in his chest. He waited for his breathing to slow and the drumming to lessen in his ears before making any move to get up and check the time. He pushed the furry bodies away from him, ignoring the grumbles of protest before his fellow canines went back to sleep. The bird was sleeping on the windowsill, content with watching over the canines curled next to each other.

After confirming that it was just past four in the morning, Ren yawned and stretched, body aching. Madam Pomfrey had been insisting that she remove his leg, saying that it had been too far damaged for her to fix it without there being a considerable risk. He refused.

He compromised however, with a cane. He didn't really need it, but it helped him walk less painfully, which was fine with him. He wasn't entirely comfortable with losing a limb.

He quietly left his assigned room beginning the long descent down the steps. Once reaching the bottom, he dropped his humanoid illusion, and stuck to the shadows as he began silently slinking from hall to hall.

"Mrowrrr." An irritated sound came from behind him. Ren turned to see Filch's cat tailing him.

"Student out of bed! I'll get you this time!" A voice called out roughly in front of the wolf. Filch hobbled into sight, lantern raised. Two fierce red eyes glared and sparkled in the light. A low growl echoed through the empty corridor. Cat behind him, dirt bag in front of him. Oh, how Ren loved early morning strolls.

"Damn mutt! Get out of here, you filthy scoundrel! I don't know why Dumbledore lets you stay here. If you were MY charge, I'd have done away with you the moment that half-breed giant found you!" Filch spat. Renegade's lips curled dangerously, gleaming teeth shining brightly in the light of the lantern, his body tense. The cat hissed at the wolf from behind her master's legs.

Without warning, Ren lunged at the man, causing the human to stumble and fall onto his cat. However, instead of making any sort of body contact with Filch, Ren shot off down the corridor, quickly disappearing from sight. He was going to get his early-morning rounds throughout the grounds in, and no castle caretaker was going to stop him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dammit! Hagrid, what the hell are these?" Ren fought to stuff a Jack Russell-like dog into a crate. It wagged its forked tail like a whirlwind, whipping Ren in the face countless times. He shook the box when the creature began chewing on the plastic.

"They're Crups! Surely ye heard o' em before, righ'?" Hagrid snuggled a black and tan Crup before placing it into its crate.

"Well, yeah… Ouch! Little bastards!" A brown and white patched Crup snarled and sank its teeth into the wolf's hands.

"Oy! Be gentle, now. They're only babies. And Cherry there's pregnant."

"….So? Why do we need more of these blasted things?"

"Never sire pups, Renegade!" Sasha barked from her placement across the field. She and Hayete sat contentedly watch Ren lose fingers to the smaller creatures.

"I'll be back in a sec'." Hagrid said cheerfully. "Gotta go an' ge' their lunch." He jogged back to his cabin.

"Children coming. Time to beat it." The two dogs rose, before making a rush at the kennels full of Crups, and shooting towards the woods, laughing as Ren cursed their existence. The yips and howls from the dog-like animals were deafening.

"SHUT THE HELL UP." Ren roared, frightening a few students who were chattering amongst themselves as they arrived.

All was quiet, not even a cricket chirped. Out of defiance, the small patched Crup, Cherry, 'wuff'd out of defiance. They glared at each other, Ren baring his sharper human-like teeth. He pointed his bloody fingers at her.

"You. I'm remembering you. I'm going to make a chew toy out of you. I swear-" He growled in a low voice.

"Professor Vachss, are you alright?"

Ren turned; to see Hagrid's newly arrived class staring at him. Hermione gestured towards his hand. He glanced down at it. His arms were covered in small puncture wounds and various scrapes, blood coating them.

"Just dandy." He glanced around. "Be right back." He limped over to a large bucket of water, and shoved his arms into it, turning the liquid into a deep crimson colour. Covering his arms with his sleeves, and ignoring the gentle throb his arms made, he sighed before returning to the group.

He scanned over the group of people, before addressing them. "Now then. Hagrid will be back in a moment, but until then, I'm to fill you in on these utterly… delightful… creatures you see here." He swept his hands vaguely over the rows of kennels. "Any questions?"

"Uh yeah." Ron stated. "What the bloody7 hell are these things? They look too… innocent… for Hagrid's normal taste in animals to show us."

"He watching them for a friend who breeds these horrid things." Ren made a face. "You'll all get to feed them and learn basic care for them today. They're known as 'Crups.' Popular pet, really."

"That doesn't answer my question. What do they DO?"

"…Eh…" Ignoring the persistnat blood trickling down his arms, Ren bent down and opened the door to one of the kennels. A blur shot out and circled wildly around the group, yipping happily.

"To put it simply… It's a dog. Jack Russell-ish, with a forked tail and a nasty habit of eating everything. They love wizards, and are stupidly loyal to them. The reason they're such a popular pet among many wizarding families is that they despise muggles. They have to be kept away from muggle towns, else they bite someone and have to be disposed of."

"Hey, Professor. If they love Wizards so much… why'd they bite you?" Seamus Finnigan asked, scratching the stomach of the Crup.

"Most domestic animals dislike me. They won't hurt you." The wolf muttered flatly, scratching the small patch of dark hair on his chin.

A crow cawed in the distance, and the dark-haired humanoid grunted, leaning on his cane. "Okay. Get into pairs, and pick a Crup. Once Hagrid gets back, he'll give you the run-through of what to do. I've got something to go take care of."

Remus Lupin stood in a tower, facing the Care of Magical Creatures class. He watched the newer teacher walk away from the students, and makes his way towards the Forbidden Forest. Interesting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Renegade."

The wolf had been busying himself, licking his wounds clean and snapping at the pestering crow that kept trying to clean his ears. His tail twitched and his nose quivered. He didn't bother turning around.

"Hello, Lupin."

"So, do you normally wander off and leave students unattended?"

"Only when it suits me. Hagrid was coming back."

There was a few moments of silence, Remus Lupin standing over the large black canine. Slowly, the DADA teacher came and sat next to the wolf. It didn't go unnoticed by the lycanthrope the way Renegade flinched heavily when he sat down next to the wolf, even though the wolf saw him approaching.

"You're beautiful, you know. A natural wolf. Werewolves are a grotesque form of flesh, fur and uncontrolled power." Lupin ran a hand through his peppered blond hair.

Ren said nothing.

"I'm jealous, really. When a wolf runs, it's different than a dog or werewolf. Every muscle in controlled, every movement precise, making it seem as if they're gliding across the land like shadows."

Ren snorted, finally speaking. "I can't run anymore."

"The hell you can't. I've seen you, on your morning 'rounds' around the castle grounds, even racing around the forest with those dogs. You use your legs more effectively, having to watch and control your movements more. And you beat them in nearly every race now."

A dry laugh. "Having fun spying, are we?" He shook his head. "Running takes more and more out of me. I'm building up my muscles again, yeah, but it causes more pain on my leg."

"You have a mini fan club, you know. Hogwarts female's love hot teachers." Lupin joked.

"'Hot' my ass. Beauty doesn't do shit when it comes to having to live in the wild. With fur duller than a mop from malnutrition, too many scars that will spring up more health problems as I get older, and a busted leg, I'm screwed as of late if I try to live on my own without a pack. So unless any of said females are wolves, I want nothing to do with them." The corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly.

"They'll be heartbroken."

A chuckle. "I'm sure."

"What's it like, being one with the wild?" Lupin asked, curiously.

"I really don't have much to compare it to. Life is relatively easy for you as a werewolf. You can go to the store, pick up groceries, and be all set. Try hunting for a week. Key word being 'try.' Because nine out of ten times, you won't catch what you're after."

"Sounds fun." The DADA teacher leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. "I'll stick to the supermarket."

"Very fun. Wimp."

Lupin cracked an eye open. "Yep. And by the way- Stop eating most of the Wolfsbane supply."

"Then come up with a cover story that will explain why a giant canine will be inhabiting the school instead of the gym teacher."

"I can't wait to hear the excuses from the students. 'Professor! The gym teacher ate my homework!'"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Feet twitched rapidly, small whimpers escaping the throat of the large beast. He was reliving it all again. The platinum blond hair, the restraints, the soft mattress and silk sheets…

Someone brushed against him, and a snarl tore through his throat as he reflexively sprung, jaws snapping shut on soft fabric. He tensed, still ferociously growling, when a hand was laid to rest on his lean shoulders. He didn't look up, his ruby-like eyes closed tightly, his breathing heavy.

"You know, I really don't need a guard outside my office." A voice said lightly. "Though I can see you'd be quite effective."

Ren released the purple-starred robe, flattening his ears and sinking low to the ground, averting his eyes. "Sorry about that, Dumbledore."

"Not to worry, my dear boy. Now, step into my office. I take it there is something you wish to discuss. Though I must say, you could have waited for me up there, instead of down here. I assure you, the chairs are much more fit to sleep on than the stone floor. Ton-Tongue Toffee."

The gargoyle sprung off its perch, revealing the stair way.

"I thought the password was 'Canary Creams.'" Ren blinked.

"It was. Severus was supposed to tell you of the password change."

They climbed the stairs, Ren's cane clicking against the steps.

"This castle. It has too many stairs." He mumbled, wincing.

"Sorry about that. But it does provide an added bonus of giving the students a slight workout on the way to their classes." Dumbledore chuckled merrily. They walked through the office, Ren taking his place in an overstuffed chair in front of Dumbledore's mahogany desk.

"What is it that you wish to talk about, Mr. Renegade? Lemon drop?" The old wizard offered a box of bright yellow candies to the wolf.

"No thanks." Ren took a deep breath. "Draco Malfoy… Is his father's name Lucius?"

"I believe so. Dreadful man, if you don't mind me saying so." Dumbledore's blue eyes lost their twinkle for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that… The younger Malfoy mentioned something about his father. It's nothing, really." Ren's throat had gone dry. He swallowed several times, fighting the urge to tremble. "I, uh, heard he was powerful. And he likes to come to the Quidditch games…" He cleared his throat. "Are teachers required to view Quidditch matches?"

Dumbledore never took his eyes off the uneasy wolf. "Not at all. Although most generally go to support their Houses. Though it surprises me as to why a fifteen year old would want to pass up a violent sports viewing, just because of one man."

Ren was clearly uneasy. "He's a Death Eater."

"Is that all?" Dumbledore pressed.

Ren was silent.

"Mr. Renegade, I want to ask you a personal question that is going to clear up a lot of things. Anything said in this room is confidential unless you wish it otherwise. Is that alright with you?" Dumbledore's voice was stern , yet gentle.

A small, quivering shrug was his response. "Sure."

" Ren… Are you a virgin?"

Ren paled several shades, before a hint of pink rose to his cheeks. He looked away, suddenly finding a small stain on the carpet incredibly interesting. He shook violently, and gave a small cough. After several minutes of nothing but silence had passed, he glanced up at the Headmaster, red eyes slightly dulled, trapped in a hazy memory. In a whisper, he spoke his answer.

"No."

* * *

**I do not own Crups. They were taken off of the HP-Lexicon site. Look them up there.**


	8. Side Chapter Suicidal Lemmings

**Author's Notes:**

**Too short and pointless to be an actual chapter, so just consider this to be like... a side-fic. Or something. Just a short little peek on what Ren's class is like. My muse thought it was amusing. Reveiw. **

* * *

A cool breeze whipped through the early-morning autumn air. The sound of tired boots hitting the ground collectively beat through the air. Pants, mumbles and curses were ringing through the air at various intervals.

Tuesday Potions class had been replaced with gym for the day.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, Mr. Weasley, but I can assure you that both my parents were happily married when they had me." The amused coach chuckled as the redhead's ears turned a fiery red, matching his hair.

The class jogged back up to the Quidditch field, exhausted, although the class wasn't even halfway through. Confusion swept amongst the class like a wave, as he approached what seemed to be a large hole in the ground.

"This," Ren said, his hand sweeping over the trench with a wave-like motion, "Is your next task."

"…Prof- ah, I mean, Coach,… just what is it that we're supposed to be doing?" Hermione asked, her bushy brown hair sticking to her forehead.

Renegade grinned toothily, an action that still creeped out most of his students. "You're going to jump across it."

"WHAT?!"

"But sir! It's got to be at least ten feet across! We can't make that!"

"SHUT UP." He waited until silence fell before speaking again. "Of course I expect you to make it. It's fifteen feet wide, actually. Thirty feet down. You won't get hurt if you fall, so don't worry about that yet."

He gave his class an icy glare.

"However, you should be able to jump across with ease. Focus your magic into your legs before you jump, and allow it a second to build up. By the end of the year, you should be able to clear at least thirty feet, with an obstacle course worse than what you've seen so far."

"Th-That's preposterous!" The high pitched shout of Draco Malfoy broke the silence. "When my father hears about this-"

"Your father can kiss my ass." Ren snarled, barely able to keep from visibly bristling. "This class is entirely volunteer. It was _recommended _to help build up physical and mental strength mostly for those who don't play Quidditch. You can quit anytime, Mr… Malfoy."

The platinum-haired boy started to open his mouth, but Ren cut him off.

"Need I remind you of your previous bragging? I seem to recall something about having built up great stamina from… wolf hunting… on your family's estate." The wolf didn't even need his sense of smell or acute hearing to know the boy was lying.

"W-Well, I.."

"Shut up." Ren turned his attention back tot eh class. "As soon as one person reaches the halfway point to the trench, the next person starts running. One will leap, the other will soon follow. Get to your place, and on my whistle, begin."

He wait for them to scramble to the marker a good forty feet away. The shriek of the whistle pierced the air.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry shot off as soon as the Hufflepuff in front of him reached the twenty-foot marker. He sprinted, his heart thumping in his chest. He saw the flash of black and gold fly over the edge, but soon plummet like the others. He was about five feet away when he tried to force his magic to build into his legs, beads of sweat falling into his eyes. Three… Two…

He leapt, sailing through the air. Almost…

He scrambled, feet catching on nothing, falling short of the edge by a good several feet. Closing his eyes, he wait for an impact… and hit the ground, rolling and a tad sore, but otherwise unscathed. Amazing for dropping from that high up. He glanced above his head, and scurried as another came falling down.

With a sigh, he went to join the others in the corner of the ditch, finding no way out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The wolf watched as the students plummeted in a rapid-fire succession. Not one made it across. He sighed, and jogged over. Picking up speed, he easily sailed over the ege, before landing on the other side. With a sneer on his face, he glanced down. Thirty dirt and sweat-streaked faces glared up at him. He jumped.

Landing on one knee, careful to tuck his bad leg as he dropped, he stood.

"That," He snapped, dryly. "Was like watching a group of suicidally depressed lemmings mull over the side of the Grand Canyon in the middle of mating season with a fox on their tails."

He heard a few choked snickers, and a few more, "Damn Bastard"s ring up.

He smirked and leaned against the wall. "Now then. You all get to decide how to get us out of the hole. With no magic. Teamwork, kiddies."


End file.
